COMMUNITY leaders in Tarporley are celebrating after being told their village is to get its own police-style patrol officer.

Members of Tarporley Parish Council were told the news by Cheshire Constabulary (Vale Royal division) Chief Inspector Paul McHue during their October meeting on Monday last week.

One of the division's three community support officers (CSO) is to be posted in the village for a six month trial period.

The CSO - which will be dressed in a police-style uniform - will help to tackle nuisance youths who continue to trouble the village.

It is unknown when the CSO will start pounding the beat in Tarporley but parish councillors are confident it will happen in a matter of months.

During this week's council meeting, Chief Insp McHue told councillors that Tarporley was the right sort of village and had the right sort of problems to warrant a CSO.

At the moment, the three CSOs for Vale Royal are being supported by Government and Cheshire Police Authority funding.

But Chief Insp McHue admits parish councillors may have to consider ways of funding their CSO if they want to keep it after the six month trial period is up.

He says businesses and groups could join forces to fund a CSO, which has an annual wage of up to £20,000.

But for now, Tarporley Parish Council chairman Helen Watson has welcomed the news and hopes the CSO will help tackle nuisance youths and other crime.

The CSO could even be based at the derelict village police station which could partly be redeveloped to form office space.

'This really is great news. It is what we have wanted,' said Cllr Watson. 'Our CSO will not just work days, he/she will be able to work their own hours.'

CSOs were introduced by the Government in the Police Reform Act 2002. They do not have the same powers as police officers, but their aim is to increase the visible police presence on the streets, reassuring the public and freeing up the time of regular officers for tasks requiring higher levels of qualifications, power and skill.

CSOs can issue fixed penalty tickets for minor anti-social behaviour, confiscate alcohol being consumed in designated public places, confiscate tobacco from young people, enter and search premises to save life or prevent serious damage, carry out road checks in the company of a constable and use reasonable force to detain a person for up to 30 minutes pending the arrival of a constable.

They carry the same radios as police officers and are able to contact officers and control rooms to report crime as it happens.